Neth felt he had been in a slumber for a very long time. Just when he was about to open his eyes, he felt a sharp pain from his backside. It was so painful that his mind went blank, and his eyes, which were heavy as lead, shot open. His surroundings were completely different from what he remembered before sleeping. But before his mind could process what was happening, he felt another sharp pain from his backside, and he urgently shouted, "Uwaaaaa!"
??????????
And the next moment, he heard some intelligible sounds from around him. Then his surroundings suddenly blurred, and he was face-to-face with a handsome, black-haired man who, for some reason, was giving him a very creepy smile. "Uwaaaaa!" Save me!
Looking at the baby crying while in Henrick's hands, Avelia tightly pricked his waist and warned, "I was already scared when he was not crying. But if you keep doing this, I will make sure you don't see him properly for the next few days."
After hearing the warning from his wife, Henrick obediently handed the baby back. But to maintain his image in front of the midwives, he said, "Dear, that's the way men…"
Hearing this, Avelia gave him a silent glare, and he had no choice but to quickly shut his mouth. The head midwife looked at the couple with a slight smile and said, "I was also worried at the beginning, but it seems he is just a late bloomer. Mister Henrick, you should go out first. We have to tidy up this place."
Listening to the head midwife, Henrick moved out, but while doing so, his gaze was fixed on the swaddle held by Avelia. After closing the door, the midwives got to work. They changed the beddings, helped the weakened Avelia change into clean clothes, removed all the unnecessary stuff in the room, and gently wiped the baby. Doing all that, they handed the baby to Avelia, who was again lying down on the bed with a tired face. Then they called Henrick back in and explained to the couple what precautions should be taken during the early period after birth.
After all was done, the midwives returned to their own homes. It was already evening, and electric lamps were beginning to glow along the quiet streets.
And what was Neth doing when all this was happening? He was already out cold for quite a while.
The next time Neth opened his eyes, it was already midnight, and his stomach was growling loudly. The only thing he could do was cry, "Uwaaaaa!" Oh, he must be hungry, thought Avelia, who was woken up by the cry of the baby. Suddenly the door flung open and Henrick also appeared in a dishevelled appearance. "What happened!" Avelia just gave him a deadpan look and, picking up the baby, tried to breastfeed him. But for quite some time, the baby refused to eat. After some time, just when both of them were getting worried, the baby finally started to eat and soon went back to sleep.
The time after that, when Neth opened his eyes, it was already morning, but before he could think about anything else, he felt a wetness at his lower body and, realizing what it was, started to shout loudly, "Uwaaaaa!" First the breastfeeding and now this. He was facing social deaths one after another.
Soon, Avelia was woken up by his crying and, observing what had happened, quickly wiped him clean and changed his clothes. After all that, just when Neth was about to start thinking what had happened to him, a bout of dizziness hit him, and he soon went back to sleep.
Avelia and Henrick cared for him in turns so that someone was always at his side. He was barely awake a few hours each day—hours spent being pinched, cuddled, and cooed over, leaving little time to make sense of what was happening. This continued for a whole week before he was able to stay awake for a substantial amount of time, though thinking still took a toll on him. Today, his umbilical cord had also fallen off, and he felt a liberating sensation in his stomach. But that fleeting relief was soon interrupted by a familiar wetness below. "Uwaaaaa!"
In the past few days, he had been thoroughly conditioned in the art of being a baby due to his body constantly disobeying him. Soon his parents entered his room, hearing his crying. Along with them came the bright sunlight of the morning.
The couple quietly put the child down in the cradle after changing his clothes and threw themselves back on the bed. Caring for a baby was a lot more difficult than they had initially thought. Due to spontaneous feeding times, frequent changing and washing of clothes, and regulating the temperature of the house, it was hard to find time to rest. And this was only the first week; they both had dark circles around their eyes. Avelia slightly got up and, tucking her silky black hair behind her ear, gazed at the now peaceful baby and commented, "We haven't even decided on a name for him."
Henrick gave her a quizzical look. "Haven't we already decided?"
"Absolutely not. Can a name as large as a sentence even be called a name?"
"But don't big names sound intimidating?" Henrick replied as if nothing was wrong.
Avelia gave him a deadpan look. Her husband was quite smart, but when it came to their child, his reason was thrown out the window. Sometimes it seemed like she was raising two children instead of one. Looking down at the child who was playing with his fingers, she said, "Let's name him Evan." And, knowing full well what Henrick was going to say, she sent him a glare and shut him up again. Her secret glaring technique was still useful after several years.
After some time, Henrick had gone to work and Avelia was also busy, so Neth had free time to contemplate. The last thing he remembered was dozing off to sleep under the cool shade of a tree. And that's all he remembered before waking up in this body. From his observation of these few days, the language used by the people here was completely different from the one used in his nation. So initially, he thought that maybe he was just in a different nation, but his thoughts were soon quashed. The people here all had black hair and dark-coloured eyes, unlike the people in his world, who had varied eye and hair colours.
Later that evening, after Henrick returned home, the couple decided to take Neth to the Cathedral of Light. Avelia, now fully recovered after a week of rest, felt healthy and fit enough to go out.
Swaddled in clean white clothes and held in his parents' arms, Neth observed his new surroundings with quiet curiosity. The cobblestone streets were lined with lamplights, much like in his previous life, but the houses were a chaotic mix of styles—some large, some taller than others, some with lawns and some without. A few even looked as if they'd been transplanted from another nation entirely.
Soon, they passed through the residential quarter and entered the bustling heart of the city. Rising before them was the Cathedral, the tallest structure for miles around. It stood grandly apart, surrounded by open lawns stretching hundreds of feet in every direction. Only a few paved paths led toward its entrance, which was framed by rows of towering white pillars.
This was also the place where Neth first found an inkling of his previous world. The statue of the goddess enshrined in the cathedral was strikingly similar to one of the goddesses he remembered from his past life. Although he had never gone to the cathedral himself, he had heard its stories from Ronan's father and had also seen its pictures. And even if he didn't know the language of this world, the name 'Luciana' being chanted by the people praying was very familiar to him.
While all these thoughts were running in Neth's mind, Avelia and Henrick were having a conversation with Priest Aron.
"First of all, let me congratulate you both on the healthy birth of the baby. May the Blessings of Light be with you."
"Thank you, Priest Aron. It has been almost a week since the birth, and we thought that it was time to get the Cleansing," Avelia said with a smile. In this world, there was a tradition of getting the newborn cleansed by the High Priestess before he was a month old. And almost all people of the world followed this rule.
"Well, certainly. Our doors are always open for all believers of light," saying so, Priest Aron signalled to the priestess standing beside him. The priestess took Neth from Avelia's hands, but instead of crying, Neth just gave the priestess a curious look. Then the priestess followed Priest Aron inside the cathedral, leaving behind Avelia and Henrick.
Soon, they reached the inner area of the cathedral. At the end of the white corridor, there was only a single white door, which was hard to distinguish from the surroundings if you did not observe closely. Priest Aron turned the handle and entered inside, followed by the Priestess who was carrying Neth.
Inside the room, there was a single teenage girl sitting on the edge of a white fountain, which was continuously pouring clear water. Priest Aron slightly bowed his head. "Your Holiness, Lyria," and, moving aside, directed his gaze at Neth. The teenage girl with black hair and wearing very baggy clothes slightly beckoned to the Priestess. The Priestess standing behind Aron came forward and, walking towards Head Priestess Lyria, handed Neth to her.
Head Priestess Lyria gazed at the child in her arms, and Neth stared back while making gurgling sounds. In order to make the act of a child more compelling, he raised his hands, trying to catch the small hair accessories of the Head Priestess—just like a small child. The Head Priestess just gazed at him for some time and gave him a smile. But to Neth, that smile seemed very creepy and ominous.
Suddenly, the eye colour of Head Priestess Lyria turned to golden from black, and Neth felt as if all his secrets were laid bare before her. Soon, the eyes of Head Priestess Lyria slightly knitted together, and she gazed at him as if contemplating something. Then, lightly lifting him, she started to bring him close to the water. Realizing what was happening, Neth started to cry loudly, "Uwaaaaa!" and ask for help. But the others present in the room just observed silently without lifting a finger.
The Head Priestess didn't stop and continued to lower her hand. Soon, Neth was completely submerged under the water. But the suffocating feeling he expected didn't come. Although he was completely submerged inside the pool, he was still able to breathe properly. Instead, he saw several golden threads floating inside the water, which were not visible from above. Finally, realizing he was safe, he stopped crying. Soon, his body started to glow with a bright golden light, and it continued for quite some time.
After the golden light had faded, Head Priestess Lyria brought the child out of the water. However, there was not a single drop of water on his clothes or body. Looking down, she saw that the child was giving her an accusing look. She didn't like that look, so she brought her hand to the child's forehead and gently flicked it. Although she didn't apply any pressure, it was still very painful for Neth, who started crying and pouring his heart out.
Priest Aron, who was watching this, wanted nothing more than to run away and save himself the embarrassment of looking at the childish behaviour of the Head Priestess. Even if her appearance was similar to a young girl's, she was actually quite old. And still, she liked to act like a teenage girl and give everyone her creepy smile.
The Head Priestess handed Neth to the attending Priestess, who started to coax him. Aron looked at the Head Priestess and asked, "Was there any problem?" remembering the golden colour of her eyes. Normally, she didn't need to go that far in the process of Cleansing.
Looking at him, the Head Priestess simply shook her head. "There is nothing wrong with him. Maybe he is just very intelligent from birth. There are children like that every now and then." Although she had some other conjectures, she didn't find it necessary to tell them to others.
Soon, Neth had quieted down after the pain had subsided and began to glare at the Head Priestess, shouting and pointing his tiny fingers at her. But to the others, it simply looked like a child who wanted to play a little longer—an endearing and rather cute sight.
Priest Aron and the attending Priestess started back toward the main prayer hall of the cathedral, where Avelia and Henrick were waiting. Just before he was carried out the door, Neth shot a final glare over the Priestess's shoulder—but when he saw the Head Priestess raising her hand, mimicking a flicking gesture, he immediately buried his face in the Priestess's arms.
Soon after, another Priest came to the room carrying a newborn girl. The Head Priestess took the girl, who had started to struggle a lot by now, and gave her a slight smile which conveyed several meanings. And then suddenly, without any warning, submerged her in the water.
The girl's struggle suddenly intensified. Even as a newborn, she was shooting Head Priestess Lyria a death glare, her small face twisted in fury. Head Priestess Lyria met the glare with nothing but a bright smile—the same smile Neth had thought creepy.
Soon, the girl's body started to glow, and inky black threads started to writhe out of her body. As though sensing prey, the golden threads woven through the pool stirred, then surged. They coiled around the black filaments, enveloping and dissolving them until the dark wisps vanished completely. After a few moments, the girl's glow faded, and her body returned to its peaceful state.
Head Priestess Lyria lifted her gently from the water. The child was now soundly asleep, her tiny chest rising and falling evenly.
As she held the newborn, Head Priestess Lyria's eyes turned golden, and she carefully observed the girl for a few moments. Then, with a satisfied smile, she handed her back to the Priest. "There won't be any problems from now on," she said. The priest bowed deeply before hurrying from the chamber.
Left alone in the quiet room, Lyria returned to the edge of the fountain. She dipped her hand back into the water, stirring gently with a faraway look in her eyes. The surface shimmered with golden light, undisturbed, waiting for the next soul that would need it.
After going back to his mother's embrace, Neth started to cling tightly to her, unlike before. Avelia only thought that her child missed her after being away for some time and welcomed this development. It indicated that her child was dependent on his mother, which made her very happy.
Priest Aron explained, "The Head Priestess has successfully carried out the Cleansing. She said he seems very intelligent compared to his peers and will grow up healthily." Hearing Priest Aron's reply brightened the couple's mood. Saying a few pleasantries, the couple went back to their home.
It was already evening. The sun had set, and darkness began to gather over the city. Bright lamps flickered to life in the windows of nearby homes.
As Henrick reached to close their door, Neth, who was resting in Avelia's arms, started to babble and point just outside the door. Glancing down, Henrick noticed he had dropped two small coins while fumbling for his keys.
He bent down, picked them up, and after closing the door, tried to rub Neth's head. But Neth didn't give him a chance and buried his head in Avelia's arms, leaving Henrick's hand hovering in the air. Avelia only smiled softly at the gesture.
Everyone likes to imagine their child is a little genius, but for Henrick, in that moment, the opposite feeling settled quietly in his chest.
That night, Henrick had to make dinner because the baby wouldn't let go of Avelia. Although not as skilled as his wife, luckily Henrick had also learned to cook and was able to manage without a hitch.
After a cheerful dinner, the couple played with Neth for a while. He slowly grew annoyed but couldn't even complain. Before long, however, the day's events caught up with his tiny, exhausted body, and he fell asleep.
Though he wouldn't remember it, he had a good dream. Except for the parts haunted by a witch who kept smiling at him with that same unnerving, creepy smile.